Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a horticultural propagation capsule configured to contain a growing medium, and to be temporarily closed around a branch section of a parent plant and left in place during an air-layering propagation process. In addition, the present invention relates to a kit containing the horticultural propagation capsule, and to a method of using the capsule to generate a separate, viable progeny plant from and established parent plant.
Background Art
Plants can be propagated in many ways, but one known and time-tested method is called “air layering.” Traditionally, about one inch of bark or phloem of a stem or branch is removed, to expose living tissue underneath, while the remainder of the bark is left attached to the main plant. The bark-stripped area of the branch is then covered with a suitable growing medium such as soil or moist peat moss, and is then wrapped with cloth, tape, or another medium to hold the soil and the moisture in place against the plant stem. Rooting hormone may be mixed into the growing medium.
After a suitable period of time, which may be days or weeks, roots will start to grow out of the covered, bark-stripped area of the plant, until there are sufficient roots that the branch can be cut from the main plant and then transplanted into the ground as a separate, viable plant.